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THE SECRET WAR AGAINST SWEDEN
In modern democratic countries, political control is not easily
achieved through military power or propaganda. However, by the use
of deception and psychological warfare, the public, political elite and
local military forces may be deceived into supporting the policies of a
major power. Mass media is thus manipulated not by propaganda, but
by deception.
Followingthe strandingof a Soviet Whiskey-class submarine in 1981
on the Swedish archipelago, a series of massive submarine intrusions
took place within Swedish waters – later described as the first Soviet
military initiative against a west European state since the Berlin crisis.
After a dramatic submarine hunt in 1982, a Swedish parliamentary
commission stated that six Soviet submarines had ‘played their games’
in the Stockholm archipelago – one even in Stockholm harbour. The
Swedish government protested strongly to the Soviet Union, and rela-
tions between the two countries were icy for several years afterwards.
Today, however, the evidence for these alleged Soviet intrusions
appears to have been manipulated or simply invented. Classified doc-
uments and interviews cited in this book point to covert Western
rather than Soviet activity. This is backed up by former US Secretary
of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who stated, in a Swedish television
interview reproduced in this book, that Western ‘testing’ operations
were carried out regularly in Swedish waters, and by former British
Navy Minister Sir Keith Speed, who has confirmed the existence of
such operations. Royal Navy submarine captains have also admitted to
havingcarried out top-secret operations in the Swedish archipelago.
Ola Tunander’s revelations in this book makes it clear that the United
States and Britain ran a ‘secret war’ in Swedish waters to test Sweden’s
capability and will in the 1980s. Within a couple of years, the number
of Swedes perceiving the Soviet Union as a direct threat had increased
from 5–10 per cent (in 1980) to 45 per cent (in 1983). In the same
period, the number of Swedes viewing the Soviets as unfriendly
increased from 30 per cent to more than 80 per cent. This Anglo-
American ‘secret war’ was a deception operation aimed at exerting
political influence over Sweden. It was a risky enterprise, but, as the
Swedish polls show, perhaps the most successful covert operation of
the entire Cold War.

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C A S S S E R I E S : N AVA L P O L I C Y A N D H I S T O RY
Series Editor: Geoffrey Till
ISSN 1366–9478
This series consists primarily of original manuscripts by research scholars in the general area
of naval policy and history, without national or chronological limitations. It will from time
to time also include collections of important articles as well as reprints of classic works.
11. Austro-Hungarian Naval Policy, 1904–1914
Milan N. Vego
12. Far-Flung Lines: Studies in Imperial Defence in Honour of Donald Mackenzie
Schurman
Edited by Keith Neilson and Greg Kennedy
13. Maritime Strategy and Continental Wars
Rear Admiral Raja Menon
14. The Royal Navy and German Naval Disarmament 1942–1947
Chris Madsen
15. Naval Strategy and Operations in Narrow Seas
Milan N. Vego
16. The Pen and Ink Sailor: Charles Middleton and the King’s Navy, 1778–1813
John E. Talbott
17. The Italian Navy and Fascist Expansionism, 1935–1940
Robert Mallett
18. The Merchant Marine and International Affairs, 1850–1950
Edited by Greg Kennedy
19. Naval Strategy in Northeast Asia: Geo-strategic Goals, Policies and Prospects
Duk-Ki Kim
10. Naval Policy and Strategy in the Mediterranean Sea: Past, Present and Future
Edited by John B. Hattendorf
11. Stalin’s Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding
Programmes, 1935–1953
Jürgen Rohwer and Mikhail S. Monakov
12. Imperial Defence, 1868–1887
Donald Mackenzie Schurman; edited by John Beeler
13. Technology and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century and Beyond
Edited by Phillips Payson O’Brien
14. The Royal Navy and Nuclear Weapons
Richard Moore
15. The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period: An Operational
Perspective
Joseph Moretz
16. Chinese Grand Strategy and Maritime Power
Thomas M. Kane
17. Britain’s Anti-submarine Capability, 1919–1939
George Franklin
18. Britain, France and the Naval Arms Trade in the Baltic, 1919–1939: Grand
Strategy and Failure
Donald Stoker
19. Naval Mutinies of the Twentieth Century: An International Perspective
Edited by Christopher Bell and Bruce Elleman
20. The Road to Oran: Anglo-French Naval Relations, September 1939–July 1940
David Brown
21. The Secret War against Sweden: US and British Submarine Deception in the 1980s
Ola Tunander

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THE SECRET WAR
AGAINST SWEDEN
US and British Submarine Deception
in the 1980s
OLA TUNANDER
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo
Foreword by
Brigadier-General Lars Hansson
FRANK CASS
LONDON · NEW YORK

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First published in 2004 in Great Britain by
Frank Cass
11 New Fetter Lane
London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the US and Canada by
Frank Cass
29 West 35th Street
New York, NY 10001
Copyright © 2004 O. Tunander
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Frank Cass is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Tunander, Ola
The secret war against Sweden: US and British submarine deception and political control in
the 1980s. – (Cass series. Naval policy and history; 21) 1. Anti-submarine warfare –
Sweden – History – 20th century 2. Submarine warfare – United States – History – 20th
century 3. Submarine warfare – Great Britain – History – 20th century 4. Cold war –
Deception 5. Psychological warfare – Sweden – History – 20th century 6. Sovereignty,
Violation of – Sweden – History – 20th century 7. Sweden – History – Carl XVI Gustav,
1973– 8. United States – Military policy 9. Great Britain – Military policy
I. Title
355.9'3'09485'09048
ISBN 0-203-49884-4 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-58280-2 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-7146-5322-5 (cloth)
ISBN 0-7146-8275-6 (paper)
ISSN 1366-9478
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tunander, Ola 1948–
The secret war against Sweden: US and British submarine deception and political control
in the 1980s / Ola Tunader
p. cm. – (Cass series – naval policy and history, ISSN 1366-9478; 21)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7146-5322-5 (cloth) – ISBN 0-7146-8275-6 (paper)
1. Stockholms skègêrd (Sweden) – History, Naval – 20th century. 2. Sweden –
Politics and government – 1973– 3. Deception (Military science) – History – 20th century.
4. Submarines (Ships) – United States – History – 20th century. 5. Submarines (Ships) –
Great Britain – History – 20th century. 6. Special operations (Military science) – United
States – History – 20th century. 7. Special operations (Military science) – Great Britain –
History – 20th century.
VA593.T85 2003
359.9'84 – dc21
200305156
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permis-
sion in writing from the publishers.
The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the
information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for
any errors or omissions that may be made.

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To Robert Bathurst
In memoriam

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Contents
List of Illustrations
viii
List of Maps
ix
Foreword by Brigadier-General Lars Hansson
x
Series Editor’s Preface
xii
Acknowledgements
xiv
List of Abbreviations
xvii
1. Introduction
1
2. The Background: Operation NOTVARP
16
3. The Hårsfjärden Hunt: A War Diary
28
4. Reflections after the Submarine Hunt
125
5. Manipulation of Government Policy
191
6. The National Origin of the Hårsfjärden Submarine
229
7. Submarine Ghosts and Psychological Warfare Against
Sweden
283
Appendix I: Sources – Archival Material and Interviews
315
Appendix II: Interview with Caspar Weinberger
325
Appendix III: Swedish Naval Forces Mentioned in
Chapter 3
330
References
333
Index
351
vii

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Illustrations
Between pages 190 and 191
11. US Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger visiting the
underground naval base at Muskö in late September 1981.
12. US ships visiting Stockholm, 25–27 September 1982.
13. Journalists watching the helicopters at Berga during the
submarine hunt.
14. Boats and helicopters during the submarine hunt.
15. Fast attack craft dropping depth charge in Hårsfjärden.
16. Fast attack craft 160 Väktaren, the Swedish vessel that dropped
most depth charges.
17. The mine station on Måsknuv island at Mälsten.
18. Helicopter 69.
19. Press conference with Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral Per Rudberg
and Commander-in-Chief General Lennart Ljung.
10. The Swedish parliamentary commission (appointed after the
Hårsfjärden incident), which presented its findings on 26 April
1983.
11. Press conference with Prime Minister Olof Palme, Defence
Minister Anders Thunborg and Foreign Minister Lennart
Bodström on 26 April 1983, after the parliamentary
commission had presented its statement about the Soviet
submarines.
12. Soviet Ambassador Boris Pankin after having received a note of
protest from Prime Minister Palme.
viii

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Maps
page
11. Scandinavia.
xix
12. Stockholm Southern Archipelago.
xx
13. Muskö, Hårsfjärden, Mysingen.
xxii
14. Nynäshamn, Mysingen, Mälsten.
xxiv
15. Submarine indications in the Stockholm area: 26–30
September.
19
16. 1 October.
29
17. 2 October.
34
18. 3 October.
36
19. 4 October.
39
10. 5 October.
42
11. 6 October.
51
12. 7 October.
53
13. 8 October.
65
14. 9 October.
69
15. 10 October.
76
16. 11 October.
80
17. 12 October.
87
18. 13–14 October.
100
19. 11–14 October.
101
20. Måsknuv 11 October.
126
Map 1 reproduced courtesy of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
Maps 2–4 reproduced courtesy of the Swedish Maritime Adminis-
tration. Maps 5–20 are by Ralf Lundberg and Ola Tunander.
ix

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Document Outline

• Book Cover
• Title
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• List of Maps
• Foreword by Brigadier-General Lars Hansson
• Series Editor's Preface
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• The Background: Operation NOTVARP
• The Hrsfjrden Hunt: A War Diary
• Reflections after the Submarine Hunt
• Manipulation of Government Policy
• The National Origin of the Hrsfjrden Submarine
• Submarine Ghosts and Psychological Warfare Against Sweden
• Sources - Archival Material and Interviews
• Interview with Caspar Weinberger
• Swedish Naval Forces Mentioned in Chapter 3
• References
• Index

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